Most Revd. (Prof) Adebayo Dada Akinde is a man of many parts who has touched people’s lives in different ways, has no tribal leaning, and is passionate about evangelism. One of his very close students and confidants, Sir Demola Aladekomo, Founder, Chams/SmartCity Plc, aptly described Archbishop Akinde’s many other parts in the form of his chairmanships, especially as the first Chairman of Chams, the professorship, and the mitre. On his closeness to Archbishop Akinde, Sir Aladekomo said, “I do not write this from the gallery. I have known him since 1981, when I did my internship in his laboratory at Ife. Forty-five years in his shadow, in the boardroom, sanctuary, and family table. He calls me his brother and BFF. I call him mentor, father, and friend. Egba to the root, he is a bridge between the sacred and the scientific. In the academy, he was among the pioneers who carried computer engineering into Nigerian scholarship, insisting that Nigeria could think at the frontier.’

Born in Kaduna on 25^th August 1946, Archbishop Akinde is a registered Electronic Engineer and Computer Scientist and earned a B.Sc. degree in Electronics from the then University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), at Ile-Ife, Osun State. He then went on to obtain an M.Sc. and PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Hardware) from University College London and the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK, respectively. While on the faculty of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, he pursued an academic career, first in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, and then in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. At different times between 1983 and 1993, he served as Acting Head and Substantive Head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering for 11 years. He also served as an External Examiner at both Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels for many universities in Nigeria, Africa, and Europe. He is a founding member of the Computer Association of Nigeria (COAN) [now Nigerian Computer Society (NCS)], the major computing group involved with professional and educational computing issues. He held the following positions within the group at different times: Chairman, Education Committee; Chairman, Publications Committee; Chairman, Conferences Committee; Vice President and President of COAN. He was the First Registrar of the Computer Professionals (Registration Council of Nigeria), a government body established by Decree No. 49 of 1993, and later served as its Vice President / Vice Chairman of Council. His views are widely sought in the industry, and he has served as a consultant to both National and International bodies, including: the MOD, UNDP, Commonwealth, UNESCO, WHO, Federal Ministry of Education, DFRRI, NA ADP (Bonny Camp), etc.

He served as Postgraduate Research Engineer, Radio and Space Research Station, Dutton Park, Slough, UK; Assistant Lecturer at the University of Ife, 1973-74; Lecturer 1, 1975-83; Senior Lecturer, 1983-92; Reader, 1992-94. He worked as a Professor from October 1994 to April 2002. He is a Fellow of the Computer Association of Nigeria, which he served as President, 1997-99, and the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria. He served on the Federal Government Committee on Computer Policy, 1987-88. He was Chairman of the Federal Government Computer Training Committee, Kaduna, 1988-89. From 1999-2000, he was an IT Consultant to the Ministry of Defence, Abuja.

In combination with his academic work at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and his priestly call, Archbishop Akinde was made a Deacon on December 23, 1979, by The Rt. Rev Jonathan Soremi Adeniyi, the pioneer Bishop of the then Diocese of Egba-Egbado. He became a Priest on December 20, 1981, at the Cathedral of St. Peter, Abeokuta, under the Rt. Rev T.I. Akintayo. He served as secretary to Archbishop T. O. Olufosoye’s Peace Committee to mediate in the Ife/Modakeke crisis, 1981-82. He worked as a curate at Ile Ife and as the Priest-in-Charge of St. John’s Church, Yakoyo, Origbo, in the then Diocese of Ibadan under Ven. J.D. Ajumobi, 1984-85. He acted as Chaplain of All Souls Chapel, Ile Ife, May-July 1985. He was a member of the Proposed Diocese of Ife Planning Committee, 1987-89. From August 1985 to October 1999, he was an Assistant Priest at St. Matthew’s Church, Ijebu-Jesa in the Diocese of Ilesa. On May 28, 1989, Akinde became an Honorary Canon in the Diocese of Ilesa under the then Rt. Rev Adebola Ademowo. Three years later, on July 12, 1992, he became a Statutory Canon. On November 28, 1993, he was collated as a Venerable Archdeacon in the Diocese of Egba at the Cathedral of St. Peter, Abeokuta. He served as Honorary Cathedral Priest at the Cathedral of St. Philip, Ayetoro, from 1997 to 2000. He attended the Immanuel College of Theology, Ibadan (2005/2006 Session). He was Provost of the Cathedral of St. Peter, Abeokuta from 2000 until 2006.

He was elected pioneer Bishop of Lagos Mainland during the Episcopal Synod on 28, June 2006, at All Saints Church, Wuse, Abuja. He became Archbishop of Lagos Province on 19^th January 2013. Sir Aladekomo explained that Archbishop Akinde ‘took the Diocese of Lagos Mainland, with no cathedral, court, or office, and left it one of the strongest in the land.’ Archbishop Ademowo rightly described Archbishop Akinde as ‘not only the bishop of one of the greatest Dioceses in Nigeria today, which he pioneered, but also the Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos. He is the number one bishop in the oldest Diocese in the nation.” He retired in 2016. The Most Revd. Jasper Akinola, a past Primate of the Church of Nigeria,  described Archbishop Akinde’s spiritual life as “A professor of computer, who could have been one of the richest people in Nigeria, shunned a multi-million naira contract to take the job of a provost, on a salary of N10, 000. This shows the extent to which this great man of God loves the Lord.”

I had my first encounter with Archbishop Akinde when he was serving as the Provost, Cathedral of St Peter, Ake, Abeokuta, in 2003, when I was serving as the pioneering Presiding Chaplain, Chapel of Christ the Light, Interdenominational, Alausa, Ikeja. Archbishop Akinde came to the Chapel for a wedding programme. In giving honour to whom honour is due, I asked him to share the order of service, and in his humble way, he asked me to preach the sermon while he agreed to do the joining of the couple. After my sermon, Archbishop Akinde whispered to me on the altar, “Deji, please, prepare to come and lead for me a week of leadership retreat and revival at the Cathedral of St. Peter, Abeokuta at your convenience.” A few months later, I arrived in Abeokuta to a very warm welcome reception led by Archbishop Akinde and his leadership team. To my amazement, the archbishop’s wife, Dr Bassey Ekeng Akinde, nee Ewa, a pharmacist, scholar, prayer warrior, and the virtuous mother of the house from the illustrious Henshaw family of Calabar, took time off from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, where she lectures, to welcome me. I acknowledge her grace in the life and ministry of our father, Archbishop Akinde. Mum Akinde went home on 25^th January 2025.

One of the major highlights of the leadership retreat and revival was the early-morning prayer and evangelism at the Alake’s palace with the then Alake of Egbaland, Oba Michael Mofolorunso Oyebade Lipede, the ninth Alake of Egbaland, who reigned from 1972 until his passing in February 2005 at the age of 90. Oba Lipede was widely regarded as an architect of modern Egba unity, successfully combining a civil service background with traditional Yoruba kingship and Christianity. Oba Lipede’s leadership provided a stabilising presence during the creation and consolidation of Ogun State in 1976. He hailed from the Laarun royal house and was succeeded in 2005 by the current monarch, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo III.

Archbishop Akinde had already spoken to Oba Lipede about me. Kabiyesi, his wife and attendants were always ready for Archbishop Akinde and me. The dynamics of mission and evangelism within a royal palace focus on reaching royal families. This is an intentional spiritual form of ministry that requires prayerful, unique ethical, cultural, and strategic approaches because of the immense political influence of the target audience. Biblically, we have precedents and examples of individuals like Joseph, Nehemiah, Daniel, Esther, and Paul called to witness specifically within royal courts.

Strategic evangelism methodologies in elites’ spaces like the palace differ from public or street ministry. Mission and evangelism to Alake’s palace was made easy by the help of the Holy Spirit and Archbishop Akinde’s humble and quintessential personality. Palace evangelism entails relational diplomacy: a ministry built on long-term trust and strict confidentiality. Intellectual and cultural literacy helps express faith that resonates with the audience’s yearning. Prophetic integrity is very important to deliver truthful but sometimes difficult messages without compromising Christian ethical standards for political favour. To the glory of God, Oba Lipede’s commitment to the 5-day early-morning evangelism in his palace was a testimony of a king with a heart for God and for the well-being of Egba land.

Using the words of Sir Aladekomo, in 1992, a light lit in Archbishop Akinde’s Abeokuta shines through generations that will never meet him, so that in them, as in him, God is glorified through service to humanity. According to him, ‘And Chams Plc. Not once, but twice, the board turned to him as chairman. Men are appointed chair for many reasons; men are recalled for only one. In 1992, as we grew faster than we could govern, he immersed himself in our affairs. Then he stopped us. He said we needed not another decision but a vision and took us into his home in Abeokuta for three days. What came out of that house has not changed since: “To Glorify God through Service to Humanity.” That sentence has held through every storm. It has been our rock.

In November 2004, I tendered my retirement as Group Managing Director. He read the heading and first paragraph, then told the board he had heard my reasons before and never agreed. He gathered the copies, tore them up before us, and continued the meeting as though nothing had happened. I wondered whether I knew this man at all. Everything that followed came after that moment: the Exchange listing, SIMReg, the INEC voters’ database, the Guinness World Record for ChamsCity, and the BVN. Had he let me go in 2004, what would my name be attached to today?’

Indeed, Archbishop Akinde’s ‘name will not merely be remembered. It will be revered.’ To the glory of God, in education, Archbishop Dada Akinde Anglican Comprehensive Academy (ADAACA), Iberekodo, Abeokuta, proudly bears his honoured name. To God be the glory.